


(pet)ty crimes and missing signs

by jaeyongficfest, moonsuhs



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff and Humor, Kissing, M/M, Mutual Pining, Roommates, Slice of Life, doyoung is the only one with braincells
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaeyongficfest/pseuds/jaeyongficfest, https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonsuhs/pseuds/moonsuhs
Summary: Taeyong stumbles upon a poor stray and just can't leave it out on the street, so he convinces his roommate to let him keep it. Jaehyun, on the other hand, has just adopted a cute kitty and somehow manages to lose her in the first week.Or, Taeyong accidentally steals Jaehyun's cat (and then his heart).
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, platonic roommates dotae
Comments: 22
Kudos: 201





	(pet)ty crimes and missing signs

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #169** : Taeyong takes a stray cat home and feeds him. Little does he know Jaehyun is looking all over the town for this very cat and is slowly losing his mind.  
> p.s. this is the least angsty fic i have ever written and.... i don't?? hate it???? i actually had so much fun with this, maybe pure fluff/idiots in love is the move......

“Look at that one! It’s so tiny!” Taeyong watches a tiny, curly-haired puppy sprint across the grass as it eagerly chases a frisbee, pouncing on it as soon as it hits the ground. “I think it’s a goldendoodle, it’ll be so big when it’s grown,” he comments, smiling as it drags the frisbee back towards its owner, barely able to lift it off the ground.

“Mm,” Doyoung hums from beside him, but with much less enthusiasm. Taeyong looks over and finds him scrolling through his phone.

He scoffs and swats his arm. “You didn’t even look,” he hisses when Doyoung jerks his head up, eyes wide in surprise.

“Taeyong, we’ve been doing this for nearly an hour!” he defends, exasperated, but Taeyong’s not listening anymore, already spun around to see what other dogs are running around.

“There’s a little schnauzer!” he points excitedly, ignoring Doyoung’s attempt at getting his attention. “We saw him yesterday too, remember? I think we should give nicknames to the ones we see more than-”

“Yong-ah,” Doyoung drawls, low and exaggerated. “I’m cold, and this bench is uncomfortable.”

Taeyong turns around, unimpressed. “Fine,” he groans, dragging himself off the bench as slowly as he can. When he’s fully upright, he slings his bag over his arm with a heavy sigh, just to push Doyoung’s buttons.

It works. He hears him grumble something under his breath as he stands up with him. He turns around to flash a sickly sweet smile, and Doyoung rolls his eyes.

“Maybe if we had a pet at home, we wouldn’t need to spend so much time dog watching at the park,” he says wistfully, like he does every day.

Ever since they’d left home to go to the city for university, Taeyong has been begging him to adopt a pet. His parents had always said no, and he’d waited his entire life to finally move out and have the chance to get one. Growing up, he’d dreamt of having a little friend to eat breakfast with in the mornings, to play with outside and to cuddle with in the evenings.

Instead, he just got Doyoung.

“For the hundred _millionth_ time,” Doyoung says, “we are not. Getting. A pet.”

“But why!” Taeyong wails, throwing his head back like a kid who’s been denied coins for the ice cream truck.

“You know exactly why,” he replies, walking off down the path and leaving Taeyong to mope.

He glares at his back for a second but eventually starts to trail behind, grumbling. He kicks his feet into the dirt to make a point, but Doyoung doesn’t blink an eye in his direction.

“I’d take care of it! You wouldn’t have to do anything,” Taeyong argues as he falls in step beside him.

“That’s not the reason and you know it. We’ve been over this,” Doyoung scolds in his mother tone, calm and unyielding. “Who’s going to take care of it when we’re home for the holidays? Neither of our parents will want it in the house.”

Even though it’s nothing new (and he’s got a valid point), it still makes Taeyong bristle. “Fine,” he grumbles, crossing his arms across his chest indignantly. “Then we will continue to spend an hour at the park every day so that I can see the cute dogs and you’ll be quiet about it.”

Doyoung is silent as they walk, and Taeyong is as satisfied as he can be with the last word but still no furry friend. They reach the end of the greenery and pass through the gate to head out onto the street again, bustling with cars and people.

It’s a short walk home, just around the corner from the park, and they fall into a comfortable step as Taeyong continues to chatter about his favorite dogs from the afternoon, argument forgotten. Doyoung listens because it’s easier than bickering the entire way back, and he knows from experience.

They turn down their street, a quieter alleyway off the main road, and Taeyong’s shoes scuff against the ground as he kicks at pebbles.

“I just think we’d be so much happier if we had a pet,” he says, and Doyoung furrows his eyebrows at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he replies, and Taeyong stifles a laugh as he flings another rock across the cement.

“Nothing! It doesn’t mean anything,” he rushes, a playful grin on his face. “Pets are good for the soul, you know. I think it’d help with your… stress levels.”

“Moving out would help my stress levels,” Doyoung mutters under his breath.

“Hm?”

“Nothing!” Doyoung repeats back to him, flashing the same, exaggerated smile.

Taeyong turns around to stick his tongue out at him. “No one’s stopping-”

Midway through his snarky reply, Taeyong’s eyes catch on something moving behind him. Something small, and fluffy, and orange.

“Doyoung, FREEZE!”

Doyoung stops in his tracks, shoulders tensing and eyes widening in alarm as Taeyong stares at something directly behind his back. “What?” he hisses, dropping his voice subconsciously.

“Don’t. Move,” Taeyong repeats, and takes a slow, hesitant step around him.

“What is it Taeyong? What’s there?” he asks again, more panicked. When Taeyong doesn’t respond, he ever so slowly turns his head to peer over his shoulder, afraid to make any sudden movements.

When he sees what Taeyong is creeping towards, he can’t believe his eyes.

“Are you kidding me, Taeyong,” he says in a normal voice, and Taeyong jumps slightly. “It’s just a cat!”

“Shh! You’ll scare it.”

A small, orange cat sat quietly by the intersection with the main road, where they’d just turned down a moment ago. It watches the two of them intently, tail flicking back and forth lazily. Taeyong nearly gets on his hands and knees as he inches towards it.

“Hi kitty,” he coos gently, crouching low as he gets nearer. “You’re so cute. Where did you come from?”

Doyoung rolls his eyes as he watches him get within arm’s length of the cat. It hasn’t moved yet, just staring as Taeyong hesitantly reaches out a hand. When he gets close enough, the cat seems to deem him acceptable and butts its head into his palm.

Taeyong looks up to flash Doyoung a gloating smile. “See? It likes me because I was quiet and calm.”

Just as he reaches down to stroke down its back, the cat strolls away from Taeyong, too quickly for him to follow without standing up. They both watch as it saunters over to Doyoung’s feet and rubs against his calf. It’s his turn to gloat.

Before he can even open his mouth, Taeyong cuts in. “Yeah, okay, I guess you were quiet and calm, too,” he admits quickly, before changing the subject again. “It’s so cute! Where do you think it lives?”

Doyoung grins smugly at the small victory before shrugging. “Don’t know, don’t really care. We’ll probably never see it again.”

“What if it followed us home? Maybe it’s a stray!” Taeyong continues, kneeling down to continue stroking the friendly cat. The raising excitement in his voice rings alarm bells in Doyoung’s head.

“Whatever you’re thinking, stop it,” he tells him, but Taeyong doesn’t look up. “Yong! Don’t get any ideas, I swear.”

When he finally raises his head, puppy eyes turned on full force, Doyoung groans out loud.

“Doyoungie,” he lilts, sickly sweet. His smile is dangerously bright, and Doyoung knows it works on most everyone, he’s seen it in action.

“ _What_ ,” he grunts out, avoiding his eyes like Medusa.

“This poor kitty looks so hungry, and he doesn’t have a collar or anything!” Taeyong runs his fingers over the cat’s neck to prove his point, and sure enough, it’s empty. “He must be a stray,” he whimpers pitifully, a frown settling on his face.

“Taeyong, you don’t know-”

“He even followed us back because he’s so desperate!” he interrupts, looking up at him with his knees tucked into his chest, stroking the cat gently where it flopped onto the ground in front of him.

Doyoung isn’t convinced. “Wouldn’t strays be more scared of humans? He doesn’t seem to mind you petting him very much.”

“Not all strays are mean and feral,” Taeyong is quick to correct, before his tone goes soft again. “He might’ve been someone’s pet and then they just left him out here, all alone and with no food.”

Doyoung watches the two of them silently, weighing out his options. Taeyong was a pain to argue with when he got set on something, and this seemed like one of those times, but it didn’t change the fact that they _could not have a pet_.

“Yong,” he tries again, turning to begging as a last resort to get Taeyong to listen. “I didn’t make these rules just to fight with you over them every day. We can’t take care of _any_ pet properly, mangy stray or perfect pedigree.”

With Doyoung laying it out so simply, he knew he was right. Giving up with the argument, all Taeyong can do is scowl at the ground and pout.

Even though he wasn’t really the bad guy, Doyoung feels guilt twist in his stomach. “I’m sorry, Yong. You know I wish we could get one, too,” he comforts, kneeling down to join him at eye level. He reaches out to pet the cat, feeling the purring vibrate through its chest.

Taeyong eventually sighs, putting his hands on his knees to push up and stand straight again. Doyoung follows, hesitantly watching for his expression and mentally preparing for tears.

Luckily, his face is dry and he doesn’t look too devastated. “You’re right,” he mumbles, glancing at him sheepishly. “But I’m still going to give it some water, and maybe some of that sliced chicken.”

Doyoung chuckles and gives him an approving nod, grateful for the compromise. “That sounds good, let’s do that.”

Taeyong gives the cat a final head scratch before walking the final few meters to their apartment building, bounding up the steps to head in. Doyoung waits outside, taking a seat on the bottom step and watching as the cat strolls over to crouch just out of his reach. _Typical cat_ , he thinks, and chuckles quietly.

When Taeyong returns, he has a tupperware box full of water and a half-empty package of sliced sandwich meat. Some of it sloshes out as he sets it on the ground, but the cat comes over immediately, and he flashes a proud grin at Doyoung.

“He must’ve been thirsty,” Doyoung observes as it drinks from the container.

“He?” Taeyong questions, crouching down to sit next to him on the step. “I think it’s a she.”

Doyoung chuckles. “That could be a very simple thing to determine, but neither of us are experts in cat anatomy.”

Taeyong stifles a giggle, reaching out to stroke the cat’s back gently, making it push against his hand and stick its tail straight into the air. “You don’t have to be an anatomy expert to tell this cat is a girl.”

Doyoung's mouth forms an O, and Taeyong laughs harder, stroking the tail down again. After his initial surprise, Doyoung breaks into embarrassed laughter with him, cheeks tinted pink.

After the cat finishes drinking and their laughter calms down, Taeyong reaches for the chicken to rip a slice into bits and toss on the ground. She scarfs down each piece, and they both watch fondly as the slices slowly disappear and the box is emptied.

“How was that, kitty?” Taeyong murmurs to her, reaching out to stroke her head and smiling when she dodges it in search of more food from his fingers.

“She likes you,” Doyoung says with a smile, before he realizes his mistake.

“That’s why we-,” Taeyong starts just as Doyoung groans over him, drowning out the new wave of unrelenting begging that he’d mistakenly brought on again.

“But Doie! We can’t leave her out here all alone!” Taeyong wails.

“You don’t know if she’s even a stray,” Doyoung argues in a last ditch effort. “What if she has a home and we just steal her off the street, that’s a crime!”

Taeyong furrows his eyebrows at the accusation, petting the cat as it rolls around his feet. He falls silent, but his puffed out bottom lip softens his angry tone.

Doyoung sighs. “Listen. Let’s just go inside-” He stops mid-sentence when Taeyong rips his head up, mouth open object. “Listen! Be quiet for one second, okay,” he rushes out, putting a hand up in warning.

Taeyong closes his mouth reluctantly, and Doyoung starts again. “We’ve given her food and water, so she’ll be okay for the night. Let’s go inside and let her go home, if she’s got one. If she’s still here in the morning, well… we can talk about it then.”

Taeyong thinks it over for a second, looking back at the cat and petting her quietly. “Alright,” he finally agrees, and Doyoung’s shoulders sag with relief.

They sit for another minute, Taeyong playing with the cat for as long as Doyoung would give him. When he puts a hand on his shoulder, Taeyong huffs out an exaggerated breath and gets his feet under him again.

Before he stands up, he leans close to the cat and whispers, “Come back tomorrow, okay?” It’s loud enough for Doyoung to hear, but he decides not to push it. It was a miracle Taeyong was even leaving the steps with so little fight anyway.

The cat sits up to watch as both of them retreat back up the steps, Taeyong waving and cooing as he goes. Doyoung went through the door first, holding it open as he trailed behind.

“Come on, Yong,” he called, and Taeyong whipped around to glare at him before saying bye one last time as the door shut. He stomps ahead of Doyoung, who just sighs and follows behind.

“You just wait,” Taeyong says over his shoulder. “She’ll be there in the morning. You’ll see.”

\----------------------------

To Taeyong’s dismay, the cat isn’t there in the morning. Doyoung doesn’t have classes, so he leaves by himself a few minutes earlier just to build in time to pet her, but when he gets downstairs, the street is disappointingly vacant of cats. He looks around, making kissy noises and even going up the next street in hopes of spotting her, but to no avail. He’s eventually forced to go in order to make it to class on time. He’s glad Doyoung isn’t there to see the tears that prick his eyes as he clenches his jaw and blinks them away.

The day is long, and Taeyong can’t shake the little orange kitty from his thoughts. It didn’t have a collar, and what responsible cat owner would let their cat outside without a collar in case it got lost? It was friendly, sure, but that only meant it might’ve had an owner at one time, not necessarily now. He sits through his lecture, barely paying attention and instead doodling little cat ears and whiskers all over the margins of his notes.

When his classes end, he wanders towards the dog park by instinct, but it doesn’t spark joy the way it usually does, and he only sits for a few minutes. He walks home, trying to think of ways to respond when Doyoung inevitably says “I told you so”. He’d be buried before he ever tells him “ _you were right_ ”.

Just as he turns the corner to their building, multiple responses prepared in his head, he stops dead in his tracks and gasps out loud.

“Kitty!” he cries, rushing towards the stairs where the cat is sprawled in the sun, exactly where they’d been sitting the day before. It looks up, eyes opening as he approaches and crouches right beside it. Her fur is warm under his hand, already purring.

“Oh my goodness, where did you go this morning? I thought you’d disappeared, I was so sad,” he babbles, smiling brightly as he shakes his bag off of his shoulder to pet her with both hands, one scratching under her chin. “Doyoung isn’t going to believe this,” he says to her proudly.

He debates calling him right then, not wanting to leave her outside in case she runs off again before he can rub it in Doyoung’s face, but then he gets a better idea.

5 minutes later, he punches in the key code and steps into their apartment. Doyoung is sitting on the couch, textbook in his lap.

“Hey, Yong, how was- TAEYONG.”

Taeyong grins as he sets the cat down on the floor, letting it walk further into the apartment. It’s surprisingly calm, sniffing around half-heartedly before flopping down in the middle of the floor again, looking back at Taeyong expectantly. He coos at it as Doyoung looks between the two of them in disbelief.

“She came back,” Taeyong says proudly, eyes sparkling.

“It- you-,” Doyoung stutters, raking a hand through his hair, “It can’t- You have to GET IT OUT!”

“Why!” Taeyong cries. “You said if it came back we could keep it!”

Doyoung looks like his eyes are about to pop out of his head, ears reddening. “I did NOT SAY THAT! I said we could TALK ABOUT IT!”

“LET’S TALK ABOUT IT THEN,” he yells back, matching his tone.

Doyoung’s mouth hangs open, struggling for words. “Taeyong, this is insane. We- That is not our cat! You can’t just take it off the street! What if it has a disease or something, or rabies, or- we don’t even have a litter box!”

“I can get everything we need,” Taeyong replies with a dismissing wave of his hand. “She doesn’t have rabies, and she looks pretty calm to me. Don’t you, Peaches?”

“YOU NAMED IT?” Doyoung wails. Taeyong nods happily, eyes curving into crescents. Doyoung buries his head in his hands and groans.

Taeyong ignores him having a meltdown on the couch and goes to sit with Peaches, who just purrs contentedly. “Do you like your name?” he says gently, stroking her back. “I think you’ll be happy here. I’ll get you a nice bed to sleep in, and some yummy food, and maybe some toys, too.”

Doyoung drags his head up, both hands twisted in his hair as he leans back against the couch. “Taeyong,” he says, suddenly sounded exhausted, “this isn’t as simple as you think it is.”

“Why not?” he counters, glancing back up. “It’s not that crazy. People adopt strays all the time.”

“Tell me what you’re going to do with it when we go home.”

Taeyong shrugs. “I’ll convince my parents to let me bring her.”

“All summer? How are you going to get her there?” Doyoung continues.

“We’ll get a cat carrier,” he replies immediately, turning to coo at the cat again. “You’ll be good in the car, won’t you?”

“And if they say no?”

“I’ll convince them,” Taeyong says simply. They stare at each other for a second, but Taeyong doesn’t falter. He’s serious about this, and Doyoung can tell.

“God, Yong, I can’t believe you sometimes,” he sighs, and Taeyong breaks into a wide smile. _He’s won._

“Does that mean it’s a yes?” he asks, and Doyoung takes one look at his face and knows he’s lost.

Doyoung rubs two fingers into his temple as Taeyong cheers on the floor. Peaches laps at her fur, unbothered.

“It can stay for now,” Doyoung gives in, “BUT! You need to talk to your parents tomorrow and make sure they’d be okay with it, okay?”

“Of course, Doie! I’ll do it as soon as I wake up,” he promises, entering the flattery stage of their discussion.

“And it sleeps in the bathroom until we can get it to a vet!”

Taeyong has to bite his tongue to stop the cry of disapproval, but he holds it in. “Of course, Doie,” he grits out much less enthusiastically, and Doyoung revels in a small, easy victory.

As if perfectly on cue, Peaches rolls to her feet and walks over to where Doyoung sits on the couch. She rubs up against his legs, tail twisting around them, and sits down to look up at him. Taeyong watches triumphantly as Doyoung fights an internal battle, crumbles, and reaches down to stroke her head with a heavy sigh.

“You’re lucky you’re cute,” he mutters, and cracks a small smile when she flops over onto his feet, purring loudly.

“I’m going to go get some supplies, are you okay here with her?” Taeyong asks him as he grabs his bag again. “Not going to throw her out right after I leave or anything?”

Doyoung laughs dryly, but shakes his head. “I won’t,” he reassures, before adding, “Send me pictures of the food options so I can look up which is the best.”

Taeyong smiles, satisfied with how quickly Doyoung was falling for her, too. “Sure. I’ll let you know.”

He walks over to give Peaches a farewell head scratch before walking towards the door again.

“And don’t forget the cat litter!” Doyoung calls after him.

“I won’t!” he replies as the door clicks shut.

\-------------------------------------

When Taeyong returns a few hours later, he drops two heavy bags on the ground with a thud as soon as he steps in. Doyoung walks into the living room from the hall to greet him.

“Where’s the cat,” Taeyong states, looking around without even acknowledging him.

“It’s nice to see you, too,” Doyoung scoffs, taking a seat on the edge of the sofa. “The cat is still here, I swear. She’s sniffing around.”

With his reassurance, Taeyong smiles again. “I hope she likes my room best,” he comments in a tone that doesn’t match his direct threat, and Doyoung rolls his eyes.

“What’s in the bags,” he asks instead, motioning towards them with a wave. Taeyong drags one over to the carpet and kneels down to unpack it.

First, he pulls out a few cans of wet food and a bag of dry food. Doyoung had done some googling and decided those were the best choices, and he nods approvingly. Then, he pulls out a massive bag of cat litter.

“Did you need to buy the biggest one?” Doyoung chuckles as he watches him struggle to pick it up.

“It was on sale.”

“Fair,” he replies. “Anything fun?”

Out of the other bag, Taeyong digs out some toys. A stick with a feather on a string, some squeaky mice, and a scratch mat.

“I wanted to get one of those kitty towers, but I couldn’t carry it on the train,” Taeyong frowns.

Doyoung stifles a surprised laugh. “Maybe that’s for the best. Let’s not get too carried away, we don’t even know if she’s staying.”

“If you keep saying it then you’ll curse us,” Taeyong scowls at him, sitting back on his heels to look over his haul. “I hope she likes the toys.”

“I’m sure she will,” Doyoung replies, before getting up to go back into the hallway. “Kitty! Where’d you go?”

“Call her Peaches!”

“Names make you get attached, Yong-ah!” he calls from the hallway.

“I’m already attached,” Taeyong says to himself. He reaches for one of the toys to rip the packaging off and follow him into the hallway.

\----------------------------

After playing with Peaches well into the evening, they eat dinner and retire to their rooms for the night to get some studying done. Despite Taeyong’s pleas, Doyougn insists on shutting the cat in the bathroom for the night, just to make sure she didn’t destroy anything or get into trouble.

Usually, Taeyong prefers to study at his desk, but the thought of the lonely cat locked in his bathroom makes him pick up his laptop and headphones and tiptoe out of his room.

He slips into the bathroom, careful not to open the door too wide and let her escape, but she isn’t interested in making a break for it. He’d built her a makeshift bed out of towels and a spare blanket to keep her comfortable, and surprisingly she had actually curled up in it shortly after they brought her in. She’s curled up in the same spot still, bathroom left intact, and pokes her head up as he shuts the door behind him.

“Hi, kitty,” he whispers, sliding down against the wall to sit on the floor next to her. He kicks his legs out, only just able to lay them straight in the cramped space, and sets his laptop on his lap. He reaches out to stroke her head and she pushes into it, eyes closing as he scratches right above them.

He pets her for a little longer before forcing himself to open his laptop and get back to work. Peaches just curls back into a ball, settling down and purring quietly. Taeyong smiles at her. “Even if my parents put up a fight tomorrow,” he breathes, “I’ll figure something else out. You’re not going back on the streets, don’t worry.”

Even though the floor is cold and uncomfortable, Taeyong sits there working long into the night. He alternates between typing and stroking Peaches every few minutes, and she sleeps contentedly beside him. He doesn’t realize how late it is until the door opens and Doyoung screeches in shock.

“God, Taeyong, what are you doing in here! It’s past 1!” he gasps, grabbing at his racing heart. Taeyong shrugs, a mischievous smirk on his face because, even if he hadn’t meant to, he loves giving Doyoung chest pains.

“And why are you on the floor?” Doyoung continues, initial panic settling into confusion.

Taeyong points at the cat, sleep disrupted by the altercation and now peering up at Doyoung. He looks up to give him an identical, unimpressed look. Doyoung tries to keep a straight face, but ends up chuckling. “You’re ridiculous,” he teases, and Taeyong’s eyes curve into crescents.

Doyoung reaches for his toothbrush. “She’ll be fine overnight, you know,” he tells him, grabbing the toothpaste to squeeze out a glob.

“I know,” Taeyong replies quietly, looking down at her. “I was just… bored.”

“Mm,” he hums, wetting his toothbrush under the tap and stuffing it in his mouth. He looks down at Taeyong, meets his exhausted gaze, and turns to hand him his own toothbrush, too.

Taeyong chuckles weakly, getting the message that it was bedtime. He suddenly feels the tiredness hit him as he slides his laptop off his lap to stand up and grab the toothpaste.

They brush their teeth in silence, Taeyong’s eyes drooping by the time he spits and rinses his mouth. He waits for Doyoung to finish and gives Peaches one last pet before grabbing his laptop and leaving the bathroom.

“Goodnight, kitty,” he calls quietly before Doyoung shuts the door. “Goodnight, Doie.”

Doyoung closes it gently, holding the handle so it doesn’t click loudly, and then lifts his hand to pat Taeyong’s head playfully. He shakes it off, like always, but flashes a dopey smile.

“Night, Yongie,” he replies, before walking down the hall towards his room. Before he reaches his door, he turns and says, “you’re getting up to feed her tomorrow.”

Taeyong grins, sticking his nose in the air. “Gladly.”

\-----------------------------

Taeyong gets up at exactly 8am to let Peaches out of her prison cell and crack open the first of the wet food cans. She seems to know what time it is, too, and circles around the tupperware container he’s decided to use as a food bowl impatiently.

“Are you hungry, kitty?” he says lightly, crouching down to dump the food in. “Here you go, this one’s chicken. Yummy!”

She ducks down as soon as he’s scraped the can empty and he stands back up with a proud smile. He’d waited _years_ to have a pet to feed in the mornings, and his dream was finally coming true.

“Eat well, Peachie,” he tells her, before turning to get his own breakfast. He shuffles around the kitchen to make cereal, sitting down to eat just as she sniffs at the sides of the now-empty container. Deciding that it really is empty, she wanders over to his chair, and he reaches down to pet her with his free hand.

Doyoung comes in a few minutes later, hair tangled and eyes bleary with sleep. “Morning,” he rasps as he ambles over to the table, sitting down next to him with a yawn. He glances down under Taeyong’s chair. “Morning, kitty.”

Taeyong spoons the last bit of cereal into his mouth. “Morhng,” he mumbles around it. He swallows, raises the bowl to his lips to drink the last of the milk, and pushes his chair back to set it in the sink.

“Have you called your parents yet?” Doyoung asks.

He shakes his head. “It’s barely 9am, I just got up,” he reasons. “Give me a little bit to wake up and organize my argument.”

Doyoung exhales a laugh, rolling his neck around to stretch it out. “Make sure you have a strong hook and thesis with at least three supporting points. You can’t argue with good structure.”

“Noted,” Taeyong grins back at him. “For someone who won’t even use her name, you seem excited about getting my parents on board.”

Doyoung tries to look indifferent, but Taeyong can see the smile he’s forcing down. “I just don’t want to deal with you having a meltdown if they say no,” he says, which is probably true, but Taeyong wants to believe it’s his reason.

“Mm, alright,” he teases, and Doyoung rolls his eyes with a chuckle. Taeyong turns to where Peaches is sprawled on the floor. “Wish me luck, kitty. I gotta convince my mom to let you come visit!”

She just stares back up at him, visibly uninterested and unmoving, and they both smile. Having only been less than a day, Taeyong’s heart swells at how natural it feels to have the little cat around, and he knows Doyoung is softening up quickly, too.

“Okay, I guess I’ll go do it, then,” he says slowly, glancing at the hallway. He doesn’t move for a moment, and Doyoung stares at him, waiting.

“…Yeah?” he asks hesitantly when Taeyong still doesn’t leave.

“…Yeah.”

He doesn’t move. Doyoung stifles a laugh. “You can just do it later-”

“No!” Taeyong interrupts him suddenly, making his eyes widen in surprise. “No, I have to do it now,” he repeats, eyes narrowing in concentration. “I’m gonna do it, okay?”

“Okay,” Doyoung gets out, face scrunched in amusement. Taeyong flashes him a dirty look before charging off into the hallway.

“I’m gonna do it!” he hollers, and then the door shuts.

Doyoung laughs freely as he leans back against the chair. From the new angle, he can see Peaches laying on the floor, head tilted and looking back at him.

Without thinking, Doyoung coos, “He’s funny, huh? Taeyongie,” in a high-pitched voice reserved for pets only. As soon as it leaves his mouth, he feels his cheeks go red. He hopes Taeyong couldn’t hear him from his room.

He’s silent for the rest of the time it takes to make his breakfast, only clicking his tongue to get her attention so he could toss her bits of sausage as he cooked. Peaches is unusually calm for a stray, he thinks, and wonders what her life was like before. How old she was, if she’d had a home some time before, and what had happened to it.

He’s already finished eating and washed both of their dishes before he hears the door swing open and footsteps pounding down the hallway. He looks up to see Taeyong slide into the kitchen, a wide smile on his face.

Doyoung’s eyebrows raise in anticipation. “And?” he says first. “What’s the verdict?”

“MOM SAYS YES!” Taeyong hollers, bouncing back and forth and cheering.

Doyoung breaks into laughter, standing up to walk over. He only makes it halfway before Taeyong knocks the air out of his lungs, arms wrapping him in a tight hug. He wheezes, laughter turning into gasps for air, and he slumps over when Taeyong releases him.

“That’s…,” he pants, “that’s great, Taeyong. I’m happy,”

“I know!” he squeals, spinning around to find Peaches.

She’s sitting on one of the couch cushions, paying close attention to the two but not particularly frightened. Taeyong walks over and scoops her up in one swift movement, and Doyoung half expects her to lash out at him, but she allows herself to be held like a baby and carried back over to the table.

“Guess what kitty! You’re staying! You’re ours! You have a home now!” Taeyong cries happily, holding her tightly in his arms and dancing around.

Doyoung can’t help but giggle at the sight, watching the two of them spin around the room. “What did she say exactly?” he asks after he’s calmed down a little.

“At first, she thought we were crazy,” Taeyong tells him. Doyoung scoffs at the word _we_ , but he doesn’t notice and continues on. “I told her Peaches was the best cat in the world, and it just felt like she was perfect for us and we- _another scoff-_ couldn’t just leave her out on the street.”

Doyoung nods along. “So she says it’s fine if you bring her home during holidays?”

“She said, as long as we get her to a vet first, she can come.” Taeyong smiles brightly, eyes curving into crescents as Doyoung smiles back at him.

“Sounds like you’ve got a cat, then, Taeyongie,” Doyoung finally says, and bursts out laughing as he throws his head back and wails a victory cheer.

Peaches finally scrambles out of his arms and back to safety as he paces around excitedly. “I can’t believe it! A cat!”

“A real-life cat,” Doyoung mocks playfully, but Taeyong is so overjoyed he doesn’t even attempt to bite back.

He suddenly sits down, eyes still wide but voice dropped to a whisper as he says, “This is crazy. I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

Doyoung chuckles from the table. “You’ve convinced your mom and me and _now_ you’re starting to doubt your decision?”

Taeyong looks up at him. “I’m a cat dad,” he breathes.

“You are.”

“Me,” he continues, “I’m a cat dad. I’M A CAT DAD!”

Doyoung jumps at the sudden change in tone as Taeyong flips back to the wild excitement phase. “You’re going to have to calm down a bit, or you’ll scare Peaches,” he comments, glancing at the wide-eyed cat staring at him from the corner.

Instead of turning towards her, Taeyong spins around to meet Doyoung’s gaze. He looks back, startled, and furrows his eyebrows at his expression.

“Are you crying?” he asks, watching Taeyong’s eyes well with unmistakable tears. “What’s wrong?” he pushes, concern rising.

“You…,” Taeyong starts, sniffling wetly. “You called her _Peaches_.”

“Oh my god.”

A fat tear rolls down Taeyong’s face as he pouts at Doyoung, who just stares back, stunned. He isn’t sure if he should laugh or go over and comfort him. When another tear falls, this time with a deep, shaky inhale, he sighs and gets up from his chair.

“You’re ridiculous,” he says gently as he walks over to sit on the arm of the couch, resting a hand on his shoulder to squeeze it comfortingly. “Stop crying. Her name is Peaches.”

As he says it again, Taeyong’s bottom lip juts out further, and he looks up at him with tear-stained cheeks. “Quit it!” Doyoung scolds him, but cracks a warm smile to show he isn’t really upset.

Taeyong sniffles again, chest puffing up and slouching down as he lets out a breath. “Sorry, I don’t know why it made me cry,” he mumbles, rubbing at his cheeks.

“You’re happy, it’s okay,” Doyoung rubs his upper back lightly, waiting for him to calm down fully.

“I was fine though, but then when you said it, it’s like it really hit me,” Taeyong says quietly, still staring at the floor as his eyes dry.

Doyoung chuckles, smirking. “I didn’t know I had that effect on you.”

Taeyong jerks his head up, jaw hanging open in shock. “Doyoung that’s disgusting!” he wails in horror, shoving him off the edge of the couch and sending him stumbling.

He barely regains his balance with how hard he’s laughing, doubling over to steady himself a safe distance away as Taeyong makes a gagging sound.

“It was just too easy,” he gets out in one exhale as he tries to catch his breath, and Taeyong gapes at him like he’s committed a heinous crime.

“I can’t believe you,” he says, and Doyoung breaks into laughter again.

“At least you stopped crying.”

“I was already done!” he exclaims. “And now I’m nauseous instead, thanks.”

“No thanks needed, it’s my pleasure,” Doyoung replies, and Taeyong falls back against the couch with a groan.

Doyoung takes a moment to regain his composure before coming over to sit next to him. With the chaos calmed down, Peaches also wanders over to where both boys are sat, phones in hand. When she jumps up in between them, Taeyong squeals excitedly.

“Peaches! You wanna sit with us?” he coos and strokes her back. She sniffs around both of them, even putting a tentative paw or two into their laps to sniff closer, for which they sit frozen still, before she crouches down in the middle. They fight for who gets to pet her, Taeyong smacking Doyoung’s hands off when they get in the way of his full body stroke. She purrs contentedly anyways.

“I searched around for nearby vet clinics earlier,” Doyoung tells him, eventually surrendering and retracting his hand, reddened from the slaps. “I can call and see if any have appointments available for this week.”

“Yeah, that would be good,” Taeyong agrees. “I guess we can’t know what kind of vaccines she’s gotten or anything.”

“No, but they can tell us her approximate age and stuff like that. She might not be fixed, either,” he replies, picking his phone up again.

“How old are you, kitty?” Taeyong says to her, scratching between her ears. She tilts her chin up, eyes closed and little teeth poking through in an almost smile.

“Cute,” Doyoung comments, scratching under her chin gingerly. She can’t decide which hand to push into, and lets out a faint mewl. They both melt.

“I can’t believe a cat this sweet was left out in the street,” Taeyong says honestly. “Who would abandon you, little kitty? You’re too adorable.”

Doyoung nods in agreement. “Once we get you checked out and make sure you’re all healthy, you’ll have a good life, Peaches.”

“A very good life,” Taeyong repeats. She was their little kitty now, and he was going to make sure nothing else happened to her.

\-----------------------

The next day, Taeyong and Doyoung both have classes, which means they have to leave Peaches in the apartment alone. Doyoung is relatively calm about it, but Taeyong is anxious to get back once their classes are finished.

“We’re not even going to stop in the dog park?” Doyoung calls after Taeyong as he speed walks down the street.

“Don’t need to!” he yells over his shoulder. “We’re cat dads now! She deserves all of our attention.”

Doyoung can’t object to that, and he certainly doesn’t mind skipping out on the dog park, so he runs to catch up with him.

“What if she’s ripped up the curtains or something,” Taeyong frets, “or peed on the couch. What do we do then? How do you wash a couch?”

“It’ll be fine, I’m sure,” Doyoung says. “I have a feeling she’s been a house cat before. She’s calm, too, and we’ve only been gone a few hours. I’m sure she’s in the same spot we left her.”

Taeyong had fashioned a cat bed out of a laundry basket and some spare blankets, and Peaches was curled up in it when he checked on her before they left. He’d chosen to leave the bathroom door open so she could roam if she wished, but she didn’t show any interest in moving at that point.

“I hope you’re right,” Taeyong mutters, panting as he races towards their street.

The light turns green just as they make it to the last intersection, and he huffs in frustration. Just one more turn and they’ll be back. He taps his foot on the ground as the cars speed by.

Doyoung stands next to him silently, waiting patiently for the crosswalk signal to turn. Taeyong isn’t as patient, and he lurches into the road just as the intersection light turns red.

“Taeyong!” he calls, but he’s already halfway across and doesn’t slow down.

He laughs, giving up on chasing him and walks across at a normal speed. He watches Taeyong speed off in front of him, chuckling to himself as he trails behind. Just as he’s about to holler at him that he looks like a freshly potty-trained toddler running to the bathroom, his eyes catch on a telephone pole a few meters before their street.

“Taeyong…,” he says in disbelief as he gets closer to it, eyebrows furrowing. “TAEYONG!”

At the second call, he whips around to glare at him. “What!” he snaps, before seeing what Doyoung was looking at.

He stops in his tracks and walks back to where Doyoung is standing. He looks back at him with unreadable eyes. “What is it?” he asks.

“Yong…,” Doyoung starts hesitantly, before pointing at the other side of the pole. “It’s your cat.”

Taeyong walks around to his side and his eyes land on a piece of paper, covered with a clear plastic folder and duct taped to the metal. Big, bold words across the top read: **_MISSING CAT_**.

His mouth falls open as he takes in the big, color printed photo of a very cute, very familiar cat. “Peaches,” he breathes, frozen in place.

Doyoung skims the rest of the poster. “Small, orange tabby… well fed, loving home, likes to hang out in this area…,” his voice gets quieter as he reads further, “ _not_ a stray.”

Taeyong swallows thickly. “Answers to the name Poppy.”

They both stand in silence, staring at it as though it might disappear if they blink. The cat, _their cat,_ was not a stray. It had a home, it had a name. They had stolen someone’s cat off the street.

“Oh my god,” Taeyong suddenly says, meeting Doyoung’s gaze with frantic eyes. “What do we do?”

“Uhh,” Doyoung stutters, glancing back at the poster. “There’s a phone number, I guess we-”

“We can’t call the phone number!” Taeyong cuts him off. “Are you insane?”

Doyoung furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “Why?”

“We can’t just tell them we stole their cat! They could like, sue us or something!” Taeyong suddenly glances both directions down the street, shoulders stiffening. “We need to go, what if someone sees us.”

“Wha-,” Doyoung tries to ask, but Taeyong grabs his arms and yanks him down the road before he can even register what’s happening.

He drags him up the stairs to their building and all the way to their door, and only when they’re safely inside does he release him. Then, he starts pacing.

“Taeyong, you need to relax,” Doyoung tries calmly, watching as he walks tight laps back and forth across their small rug.

“I can’t relax, Doyoung, I’m a cat thief!” he wails, twisting a hand into his hair.

“You’re not a cat thief, you just didn’t know, okay?” Doyoung replies, voice slightly raising as he grows more panicked, too. “Neither of us knew.”

Taeyong groans frustratedly. “You kept saying she seemed used to being indoors, and she was so comfortable around us from the beginning, and,” he pauses to groan again, “I should’ve known!”

“Taeyong, we just need to sit down and talk about this,” he reasons again, beckoning towards the couch to try and tempt him to stop pacing and sit down. “There’s a few options, we just could put her back outside where we found her. We could also leave a message there or something, I don’t know, but there’s options.”

Taeyong does stop pacing, listening as Doyoung speaks, but instead of sitting down with him, his head turns towards the bathroom. “Where’s Peaches,” he says suddenly, and disappears into the hallway.

Doyoung takes the moment alone to drag a slow hand through his hair and down over his face, heaving a sigh. He’d had his doubts about the cat really being a stray, too, but he’d let Taeyong win him over. Now, this seemed worse than if he’d have just held firm and told him no from the beginning.

Taeyong walks back into the room with Peaches in his arms. She looks like she’s been woken up from a nap, relaxed and pliant in his arms. Doyoung can’t help but smile at her, cradled so tenderly and completely content with it.

“She was still in the basket,” Taeyong tells him.

“She’s a good kitty,” he replies.

“She’s our kitty,” Taeyong continues, barely above a whisper. His voice wavers, and Doyoung frowns at the way his lip quivers.

“Yong-ah,” he starts softly, eyes gentle. “She’s someone else’s kitty.”

Taeyong stares at him for a second, lip jutting out a little further, and then he bursts into tears.

For the second time in two days, Doyoung rushes over to wipe his tears away. Taeyong stands in the middle of the room, Peaches still in his arms, and lets the sobs shake his shoulders as Doyoung frantically assesses the situation and what to do next.

“Shh, it’s okay, you’re okay,” he soothes, and slips the mildly alarmed cat out of his grip to place her on the ground and out of the way. As Taeyong’s arms fall limply to his sides, he slips his own in between them to pull him in for a hug. Taeyong buries his head in his neck, tears wetting his shirt collar.

He lets him stay there for a minute, humming gently until his sobs have quieted and he’s just sniffling against his shoulder. Doyoung takes a half step back to get a look at his face, all red and puffy. He smiles comfortingly.

“Who knew being a cat dad would make you so emotional,” he says, and Taeyong laughs through another wave of tears.

Doyoung reaches up to wipe them away. “Seriously, though, you gotta stop.” He drops one hand to his shoulder. “We can talk about it later, just try and calm down for now.”

Taeyong nods once, rubbing at his cheeks with the backs of his hands. “Sorry, I don’t know why-”

“It’s okay,” Doyoung replies, cutting him short. “Just take a break. I’m going to get started on dinner. Go… take a nap or something. Or watch something.”

He gestures towards the couch, and Taeyong nods again. “Yeah, okay. I’ll watch something,” he agrees.

“Great,” Doyoung says, watching him as he walks over to the couch slowly, as if he’s in a daze. “I’ll be in the kitchen, yell if you need anything.”

He waits for confirmation, but Taeyong just slumps against the couch and grabs at the remote blindly, staring into space. As much as he wants to stay and keep him company, Doyoung reluctantly leaves to make something for them to eat. He’d be hungry later, and the last thing he needs is a hungry _and_ emotionally unstable Taeyong.

He settles on steamed vegetables and rice, and pulls it together in less than half an hour. Taeyong likes his with less rice, and so he splits it slightly unevenly, piling more vegetables to make up for it. He grabs two sets of utensils and carries the bowls into the kitchen.

“Hey, you-,” he starts as he turns the corner, but pauses when his eyes land on Taeyong, curled up and dead asleep on the couch. “…Hungry.”

He chuckles quietly so as not to disturb him, walking over to set the bowls on the table and search for the remote to turn off the TV. He tiptoes quietly closer, but finds both of his hands empty. When he peeks around his other side, he almost gasps in surprise.

Curled so tightly against him that Doyoung hadn’t even noticed her, Peaches is pressed up against his legs, nose tucked into fur. She doesn’t stir when he pulls back suddenly, and he sighs in relief, not wanting to wake either of them.

He takes a few more steps back just to be safe, but looks on quietly, fondly. “Oh, kitty,” he whispers to himself, “you’re not making this any easier, are you?”

\------------------------------

Taeyong wakes up in his own bed the next morning, eyes crusty and very disoriented as his morning alarm goes off. He stumbles out of bed and into the kitchen, where he finds Doyoung already up and showered.

“Morning, Yongie,” he greets him from the table, working at his laptop. “How did you sleep?”

Taeyong blinks at him, scratching at his scalp. “Feel like I hibernated for a week,” he says, voice scratchy from misuse. He coughs, clearing his throat, and goes looking for a glass to fill with water.

“Well you did sleep like… 14 hours,” Doyoung replies casually, and Taeyong chokes mid-sip.

“I what?” he heaves, coughing roughly and only making his throat more raw. “How did I… when…,” he trails off, before his eyes shoot up at him. “Did you drug me?” he accuses.

“What? No!” Doyoung shrieks, personally offended. “But I did drag your lifeless corpse to bed last night _and_ plug your phone in to charge, because I’m just that good of a friend.”

Taeyong side-eyes him like he isn’t fully convinced, and Doyoung scoffs. Then, all of the previous day’s events come rushing back to him, and he has to hold onto the counter with the weight that hits his shoulders.

“Peaches…,” he mumbles, stomach rolling with sudden anxiety.

“She’s sleeping in the basket,” Doyoung reassures him, flipping his tone just as fast. “Don’t worry about her right now, you’ve got classes today. Just get ready for those and we’ll deal with that later, okay?”

Taeyong thinks it over. He’s sure he won’t be able to focus in class, but the longer they pushed it back for, the longer Peaches stayed, and he wasn’t going to argue with that.

He nods at Doyoung, who smiles back, pleased. “Great. Eat something and go get ready,” he tells him with a wave. “And don’t forget to shower, you stink.”

Taeyong rolls his eyes at him, but looks down at the clothes he’d been wearing for nearly 24 hours and scrunches up his own nose. “I’ll see you after class,” he says to Doyoung as he heads back to his room to get ready.

“Yeah, see you then,” he replies, going back to his screen. “Don’t forget to pick up green onions at the store! We need them for dinner tonight,” he calls after him.

“I won’t!”

\-----------------------

Taeyong’s last lecture feels like it lasts hours, and he’s out the door before the professor has even finished his last sentence. The outside air is refreshing, and he sucks in a deep breath as he skips down the front entrance stairs to head home.

The effect doesn’t last long. His entire head feels stuffy with different thoughts of Peaches, and he hadn’t retained a single shred of information from the entire day. It was a waste of time to go, he knows, but now all he can do is race home and spend as much time with her as he can before the inevitable happens and Doyoung forces him to call the phone number.

As he crosses the first big street, he starts thinking about what he’s going to say when the line connects.

_Hello, I’m the one who stole your cat?_

_Hi, I think I accidentally adopted your cat._

_Hey, you know your missing cat? Yeah, she’s mine now. Don’t try to call this number again._

He can’t stop the giggle that escapes at the thought of changing his identity and fleeing the country with Peaches, ignoring the curious glances of passersby as he continues down the road. He giggles more when he realizes that a part of him is actually considering it.

He turns the corner to head up his road, and he sees the cursed poster that started it all, still hanging there (because, obviously, the cat hadn’t been found). He resists the urge to tear it off the pole, hiding the evidence and hoping no one comes looking for her again. Instead, he scowls at it and stomps past, heading towards his building.

Before he can get there, a conversation on the other side of the alley catches his attention. He hears a deep, warm voice, and he turns to see the back of a tall man talking to an older neighbor lady he recognized from nearby. As he listens for longer, he notices the agitation in the stranger’s voice.

Before Taeyong can pick out any words, the lady waves him off and shuffles past, ignoring him as he turns to try and ask her another question. Taeyong sees a piece of paper in his hand, but not for very long, because he’s quickly distracted by the man’s face.

He was young, maybe 21 or 22, with floppy black hair that fell into his eyes and the most gorgeous face Taeyong had ever seen. He’s sure he’d be even more gorgeous, too, if it wasn’t for his furrowed eyebrows and panicked expression.

Taeyong realizes he’s been staring too late, and the man has already locked eyes with him. He tries to look away and continue on to his building, but suddenly he’s speed walking towards him, and Taeyong is too stunned to move.

“H-hello?” he stutters out as the man reaches him in just a few strides. He’s at least a few inches taller, and Taeyong swallows as he looks up at him, heart pounding. _He’s even more stunning up close._

“Hi,” the man says back curtly, and it throws Taeyong off, but before he can try to reply, he continues, “Do you live around here?”

He cocks his head to the side, confused. “Uh… yeah? Just up there,” he points. “Why?”

The man’s eyes light up, and Taeyong almost smiles back, feeling his skin tingle excitedly, but then he holds up the paper for him to see, and his stomach drops.

“Have you seen my cat?”

Taeyong looks at the poster, the same one he’d nearly just ripped off the pole, and the picture of Peaches slapped front and center. Then he looks up at the man, (Peaches’ owner, he assumes,) and absolutely hates the way his heart skips, still.

He stares at the poster for a few seconds, as long as he can to stall the conversation. His brain races through response after different response, anything from _yeah, I have_ , to just turning heel and sprinting the other direction. He tries to put together a reply, knowing the man is staring at him, waiting for him to answer the very simple question.

“I…,” he starts, not looking up. All he needs to say is _no, he hasn’t._ The man would leave, and he would give up hope, and Peaches would be his forever. It was only three words, one if he wanted to be blunt. Doyoung would probably be mad at him, but he’d get over it. He could do it.

“Yeah?” the man asks, and he sounds so ridiculously hopeful that Taeyong wants to plug his ears with his fingers. It was just one word, one word, one word.

Taeyong takes a sharp, shallow breath and finally raises his head, steeling himself to reply and show no emotion. He meets the man’s eyes, opens his mouth, but as much as he tries, nothing comes out. 

He looks about ready to beg on his knees. “Have you?” he repeats again desperately. “She looks just like this, she likes to hang out around here. She’s very friendly and likes people.”

The word sits on the tip of tongue, but the pure panic in his voice makes him crumble, and he battles to regain his composure.

When Taeyong still doesn’t answer, he gets even more worked up. “Please, just tell me if you’ve seen her at all. I just adopted her a few weeks ago and I’ve only let her outside a few times so far and it was only a couple hours I thought it would be fine but I’m so scared that she got lost or got in an accident or-”

His voice gets tight as he rambles on, and Taeyong’s heart clenches at his distress. No matter how much he wanted to lie and push past him, he wasn’t evil. He couldn’t bear to let the man think Peaches had been hurt somewhere, or worse.

The longer Taeyong stays silent, the man’s hope seems to dwindle. He looks close to tears as he takes a half step back, ducking his head. “Sorry,” he whispers shakily, “I didn’t mean to get so…,” he trails off, not finishing his sentence. “I guess you haven’t seen her.”

Taeyong watches him, taking in his features. The curve of his lips, his delicate lashes, his enchanting eyes. He sighs, all thoughts of lying replaced with _if only my heart didn’t leap when I look at you._

He knows he can’t do it.

The man is about to turn away, but Taeyong stops him. “What’s your name?” he asks abruptly.

He turns back to face him, confused. “Jaehyun,” he replies. “Why?”

 _The name suits him._ “Well, Jaehyun,” he says, feigning enthusiasm, before continuing, “I think it’s been shown than explained.”

With that, he grabs Jaehyun by the forearm and spins him around to drag him towards his building.

“Wh-wait!” he protests, stumbling over his own feet to try and keep up with him. “Where are you going?”

Taeyong gets to the top of the stairs before he lets go and turns around. “My apartment. Are you coming?”

Jaehyun looks bewildered, standing a step lower but still eye to eye with him. Taeyong raises his eyebrows, as if asking again. “Hm?”

Jaehyun’s mouth hangs open a little, eyes flickering back and forth as he tries to rationalize the situation. Taeyong offers him little clarification, because he still can’t believe that he’s doing this.

“I… I mean,” Jaehyun starts to say, but Taeyong huffs and starts walking away. He panics and rushes after him. “Wait! Wait, I’ll go.”

“Great,” Taeyong replies flatly. “It’s just up the stairs.”

Jaehyun follows behind quietly as they climb the flights of stairs to his apartment. Taeyong leads the way down the hall, gritting his teeth as they get closer and closer. They stop in front of his door, and he punches in the code and swings it open.

“Taeyong?” he hears Doyoung call from the kitchen. “You’re home ear-”

He cuts off as Taeyong steps through the door, Jaehyun following behind him.

“Hi,” Taeyong greets him with only a glance in his direction as he starts to look around.

Doyoung stares at Jaehyun, who stands in the corner, unsure where to go or look. “Who’s he?” Doyoung asks Taeyong, glancing at him warily.

“Jaehyun,” Taeyong answers simply, peering over the edge of the couch. He looks up again, and then heads for the hallway.

Doyoung opens his mouth to call him back, but he’s gone before he can say anything. He stands awkwardly, watching as Jaehyun shifts his weight from side to side, too. He clears his throat, and Jaehyun looks up hesitantly.

“Are you a friend from a class?” Doyoung asks him, and he shakes his head.

“Oh, uh, no. We just met, I asked if he’d seen my cat?” Jaehyun holds up the poster, and Doyoung’s eyes nearly pop out of his skull.

“Oh my god,” he whispers, and before Jaehyun can ask what’s wrong, Taeyong makes a reappearance.

They both turn to look at him, but he’s only looking at Jaehyun, Peaches curled in his arms.

“Poppy!” Jaehyun cries, and races towards them. He’s grinning so brightly, and Taeyong thinks his eyes are starting to water, too. He reluctantly hands the cat over into his waiting arms, biting his tongue.

“Oh, I missed you so much, Poppy,” he whispers, holding her close and rocking back and forth gently as he squishes their faces together, pressing kisses to the top of her head.

Taeyong moves to stand next to Doyoung, who gives him a _what in the world is going on_ look, but he just shakes his head sadly and looks away. Doyoung stays silent, but rests a hand on his shoulder.

After Jaehyun has had the cat in his arms for a minute, he’s much calmer, and understandably so. His furrowed brows have smoothed, his frown has disappeared, and the color is returning to his smooth skin. Even with _his cat_ in his arms, Taeyong hates how drawn he still is to him. He can’t tear his eyes away.

“Thank you so much for finding her, thank you!” Jaehyun says to them. His genuine appreciation is so clear in his voice that Taeyong feels a little guilty for having considered letting him walk away. Afraid his own voice will give away all the emotions he’s pushing down, he nods curtly.

Doyoung doesn’t say anything either, because he doesn’t know what Taeyong has told the man, so he just glances between the both of them.

“Where did you find her?” Jaehyun asks, and Doyoung glances at Taeyong to answer.

“Uh,” he starts, unsure whether to lie and avoid suspicion, or just tell the truth. Jaehyun waits patiently, stroking the cat gently, and he just looks so innocent that Taeyong can’t make himself lie to hin. “3 days ago,” he finally says, and drops his gaze, knowing Jaehyun’s friendly smile won’t be lasting very long.

“3 days?” he hears Jaehyun repeat, slowly processing what it means. “3 days…that’s the day she went missing.”

“Oh, is it?” Doyoung says in a light tone, trying to dissolve the building tension. He laughs awkwardly, “we just saw her outside, she looked hungry so we brought her in.”

“You didn’t see the sign outside? It’s been there a few days,” Jaehyun says, brows slowly furrowing again.

“Oh, that sign?” Doyoung gestures to the paper he still held in his hand. “Uh, I mean maybe, but I didn’t really… look at it, you know. We just kinda…,” he pauses to glance at Taeyong, silently begging him for help.

Taeyong debates continuing the lie for him, even though he knows Jaehyun is growing more and more suspicious by the second, but he just doesn’t care anymore. He had his cat back, so there was no reason to beat around the bush.

He huffs and crosses his arms across his middle. “We saw the sign, yeah.”

Doyoung smacks him subtly, eyes burning a hole in the side of his face, but he doesn’t blink. Jaehyun looks stunned.

“You… saw the sign. Why didn’t you call?”

“Because we thought she was a stray.”

“A stray?” Jaehyun replies, looking down to fiddle in her fur. “But she has a…”

“No collar. I’m not an idiot,” Taeyong says as Jaehyun’s fingers catch on nothing around her neck. His cheeks redden.

“It must’ve fallen off,” Jaehyun mumbles. “So you brought her in because you thought she was a stray, and then you just… kept her?” he asks.

“‘Kept her’ sounds like she was imprisoned,” Taeyong bites back, a little sassy. “I got food and toys and all the important stuff, we made an appointment to get her checked at the vet, I even called my parents to make sure I can bring her home on holidays.” As he explains, he realizes how quickly everything had happened over the last few days. He probably sounded insane.

“ _Maybe_ we could’ve waited a few more days to see if she was really a stray,” Doyoung picks up for him, “but in our defense, she didn’t have a collar and we’d never seen her around before.”

“That’s because I just got her a few weeks ago,” Jaehyun explains. “She was from the shelter, so I didn’t want to let her outside too soon. I don’t know what happened to her collar, though.” His face scrunches up as he looks back at them. “What I still don’t get though, is why you didn’t call when you saw the sign?”

“It’s my fault,” Taeyong speaks up. “Doyoung saw it yesterday, but I was so shocked about her having another owner and upset about everything so we just said we’d deal with it tomorrow.” He pauses, exhaling a short laugh. “Which is today. I didn’t plan on running into you, but that’s how it worked out.

“ _Another_ owner?” Jaehyun repeats, and Taeyong winces. “Let me get this straight. Basically, you adopted my cat.”

Taeyong looks away, feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to, it just happened,” he replies. “It all happened so fast, and Peaches was just so-”

“You named my cat Peaches?”

Taeyong is so ashamed that he just squeaks in response, afraid to face him again in case he was upset. Beside him, though, Doyoung lets out a light chuckle, and he swats him on the arm. Hesitantly, he looks up through his eyelashes to glance at Jaehyun across the room. He didn’t look angry at all, eyes curved into crescents and dimples appearing on his cheeks.

“Peaches is kinda cute,” Jaehyun says, and breaks into a bright smile. Taeyong resists the urge to gape, because _one,_ he’s so happy Jaehyun isn’t upset, and _two,_ he thought Jaehyun couldn’t get any more attractive, but he was wrong.

“It was Taeyong’s idea,” Doyoung says from beside him. Jaehyun turns the heart-melting smile on him, and he nearly can’t take it.

“Y-yeah, I did that,” he mumbles without thinking, “but yours is cute, too!” He pauses for a second, before quietly adding, “What was it again…?”

“Poppy,” he replies, looking down at the cat in his arms. “That’s right, isn’t it? You’re Poppy.”

The second time he says it, enunciating the P and smiling, she makes a noise back at him, a half-meow-turned-purr that makes Jaehyun giggle and Taeyong gasp.

Jaehyun looks up proudly. “She knows her name already, she always meows,” he says.

“I’ve never heard her meow,” Taeyong admits, still surprised by it.

“She doesn’t do it often,” he replies, crouching to set her on the ground again. She just flops over on the ground in front of him, and they all chuckle. “She does that a lot, though.”

“Mm,” Taeyong hums, feeling a little more relaxed with everything out and off his shoulders.

“I brought something else, too,” Jaehyun continues, rummaging in his pockets. “She’ll eat anything you give her, right?”

“She’s had 3 types of canned food and eaten all of them,” Doyoung confirms with a laugh. “Plus the sliced chicken, she loves that stuff.”

“Chicken is her favorite,” Jaehyun says, pulling a bag of what looks like cat food out of his pocket. “Watch this. I kept it with me just in case someone asked me to prove it was Poppy.”

He kneels down and opens the little baggie. “You want a treat, kitty? Here, try this one.” He pulls a slightly smaller one out of the bag, showing it to Taeyong and Doyoung first. “Chicken,” he says, before dropping it in front of her.

She gobbles it up without a second thought, just like anything they put in front of her. “Looks like her,” Taeyong chuckles, and Jaehyun smiles up at him.

“But look at this one,” he says, pulling out a bigger, lighter colored piece. He sets it in front of her again, where she’s still sniffing the ground and looking for more. Her nose goes right over it, sniffs it once, twice, and then moves on, leaving it there.

“What?” Taeyong and Doyoung say at the same time, taking a step closer to make sure it was really still there.

“It’s salmon,” Jaehyun tells them, picking it back up to put away. “She won’t eat it, no matter what. I even tried to hide it in her food, and she’ll eat around it. It’s so strange.”

“That is strange,” Doyoung agrees. “I wonder why she doesn’t like it.”

While Jaehyun and Doyoung chattered about the possible reasons she didn’t like the treat, Taeyong stared at him quietly. He’d only had her a few weeks, and yet, he’d taught her her own name, and memorized what treats she liked and disliked. No matter how upset he was, Taeyong couldn’t ignore the fact that he was a good cat dad, too. She really was Jaehyun’s cat, he thinks. She was Poppy, not Peaches.

Taeyong walks forward to crouch down across from Jaehyun and the cat, meeting his eyes much closer than before. He smiles gently. “I think she’s really happy to have you back, again,” he comments, stroking her along her back. “Aren’t you, Poppy?”

Poppy meows more clearly this time, and he can’t help but smile even though his heart aches a little. He feels Doyoung come up behind him, setting a hand on his shoulder, and he leans into it, grateful for the comfort. Jaehyun looks just as conflicted as he feels inside, and they sit in silence for a moment.

“I’m sorry that you…,” Jaehyun starts to say, but Taeyong shakes his head roughly, and he stops.

“You don’t have to apologize,” he tells him, with as much surety as he can muster. “It’s my fault for getting attached so quickly. I should’ve been more careful.”

“Still,” Jaehyun responds. “I know it’s my cat but… I feel bad just taking her.”

Ouch. Taeyong had almost forgotten about that part. The _cat going back to its actual owner_ part.

“She’s yours, I’ll get over it,” Taeyong assures him with a weak laugh. It doesn’t feel so funny, but he can’t stand the pity in Jaehyun’s eyes. He’s afraid that if he keeps looking at him like that, he’ll start to crumble all over again.

“Are you sure?” Jaehyun asks him again, but it’s not like Taeyong can say no. He nods once, desperate for him to just take Poppy and leave so that he can cry for the third time that week in peace.

“I’m totally sure, we’ll be fine,” Taeyong says, but his voice cracks on the last word and he flinches at the betrayal, cheeks going red. Jaehyun, who had almost looked convinced, slumps a little on the floor, frown deepening.

Taeyong avoids his eyes, willing himself not to cry, and so they both stare at the cat in silence. Doyoung stands above them, hand still squeezing his shoulder gently. Suddenly, another hand touches his forearm.

He glances up, and Jaehyun offers him a gentle smile. “Hey, what if you came over to see her later?” His hand slips down to curl around his palm, warm and steady. Doyoung’s hand stills.

Taeyong furrows his brows, trying not to show how much the small touch phases him. “What?”

“You know, just to see how she’s doing,” Jaehyun continues, finally letting his hand fall back into his own lap and leaving Taeyong’s stomach to do somersaults.

“Oh,” he gets out, staring at his lap, other hand slowly moving to wrap around where his had been.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Jaehyun says. Taeyong feels Doyoung’s hand tighten on his shoulder.

“No,” he looks up again, “I’d like that, yeah.”

Jaehyun breaks into a smile, and Taeyong’s stomach hasn’t stopped fluttering. He returns it, small and tentative but a smile all the same. Poppy butts her head into his knees, stealing the attention away, and they break eye contact to pet her.

“Would you like to sit on the couch or something, Jaehyun?” Doyoung says from above them, and Taeyong jumps in surprise. He hadn’t noticed his hand disappear. “I don’t know the last time this floor was mopped,” he continues with a light laugh.

Jaehyun smiles, sitting back on his heels to stand up again. “Actually, I should probably get going. I don’t want to overstay when I haven’t even repaid you for finding Poppy.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’ll find a way to do that,” Doyoung smiles politely, and Taeyong blinks twice, but they’re already walking towards the door.

Jaehyun slips his shoes back on and clicks his tongue for Poppy to come over. Taeyong is still sitting on the floor with her, and she rolls over to look at him, but doesn’t move. Taeyong looks at him, too, and Jaehyun just laughs.

“Do you have a carrier or something?” Taeyong asks him, suddenly realizing he’d forgotten to get one for the vet visit.

“I do, but it’s at home and it’s not very far to walk. I can just carry her,” Jaehyun tells him, clicking his tongue again for her to come over. He calls her name and she meows on cue, but this time it sounds disapproving, and she still doesn’t budge.

Taeyong pokes her in the back, chuckling. “Go on, kitty, you gotta go home now.” When she still shows no signs of moving, he pushes himself off the floor and picks her up instead.

Jaehyun stands in the entryway, shoes on, and accepts the cat from him with a grateful smile. “She can be stubborn sometimes,” he comments, and Taeyong nods.

Doyoung clears his throat. “Well! I’m glad this all worked out well, and that Poppy has a nice and understanding owner,” he reaches out to scratch her head, and Jaehyun smiles.

“Thanks for taking care of her,” Jaehyun replies, bowing his head politely to Doyoung. When he turns, Taeyong can only hold his gaze for a second before he panics and bows, keeping his eyes on the floor and his heart in his chest.

He watches Jaehyun’s feet turn and walk through the door. He looks up to watch him leave, safe from his captivating eyes, but suddenly he looks over his shoulder again. “I’ll see you later?” he asks, and Taeyong freezes mid-breath.

“Sounds good!” Doyoung says for him before he can register what the question was, throwing a casual arm around his shoulder as he waves at Jaehyun. “Get home safely! Bye!”

Jaehyun steals one last glance at Taeyong before letting himself be ushered out and finally heads down the hall. Doyoung waits a few seconds to shut the door, letting him get to the stairs and out of earshot before he whirls around.

“Oh my god, TAEYONG,” he nearly shrieks, and Taeyong flings a defensive hand up in surprise.

“Don’t yell like that, you’re hurting my ears,” he complains as Doyoung brushes past him and into the main room.

“Did you see that!” Doyoung cries again, no quieter than the first time. “Oh my god, he was FLIRTING!”

“Doyoung,” he whines, walking over to the couch to slump against it.

“Are you disagreeing? Because I saw it with my own eyes, Yongie,” Doyoung turns to say.

Taeyong closes his eyes to try and soothe his racing heart, but all he sees is Jaehyun’s face looking back at him. “I don’t know what just happened. Any of it,” he admits, raking a hand through his hair.

“How did he even- How did you find him! What even happened?” Doyoung throws questions after questions at him, suddenly appearing on the couch.

“I don’t even know,” he says, staring up at the ceiling. “I haven’t processed anything that happened in the last hour, I have no idea what’s going on.”

“Okay, let me summarize for you,” Doyoung volunteers cheerily. “ _Somehow_ you ran into him outside and _somehow_ he found out you had his cat and _somehow_ he ended up in our apartment flirting with you.”

Taeyong runs over the events as he says them, brain slowing putting them together in a coherent timeline. “He had the missing cat sign,” he tells him, remembering suddenly. “He was showing it to people outside, and he stopped me.”

“And you just… admitted it? Weren’t you planning on forgetting you ever saw that sign?” Doyoung asks him.

He sighs. “I mean, yeah,” he pauses, remembering the way Jaehyun had looked at him, worry and desperation painted all over his face. “I was going to, but I couldn’t lie straight to his face. I tried, trust me, but I just couldn’t.”

“So then you just brought him up here,” Doyoung finishes, and he shrugs.

“Yeah, basically.”

They stare at each other for a second, and Taeyong thinks maybe that’s the end of it, but then Doyoung flies off the couch again.

“He was FLIRTING! RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! RIGHT OVER POPPY’S LITTLE HEAD!”

“STOP YELLING!” Taeyong screeches, and Doyoung just laughs as he buries his head in his arms.

“I can’t believe you stole someone’s cat and got a date out of it,” Doyoung says, mostly to himself, but Taeyong’s wail can be heard through the sleeves of his hoodie, and he starts laughing again.

He pokes his head out again. “It’s not a date. I’m going to see Poppy.”

Doyoung raises one eyebrow at him. “Look me in the eyes and tell me you aren’t attracted to him.”

Taeyong sputters at his bluntness, but doesn’t even try to correct him. Doyoung says nothing, but his expression is smug enough for Taeyong to huff and roll his eyes.

“When are you going to go?” Doyoung asks, glancing at his phone. “I was going to make dinner at 6, but we can-”

“Oh, I forgot to get green onions,” Taeyong suddenly realizes, and Doyoung scowls at him.

“That was your only task for dinner!”

“Sorry, I got sort of distracted with the _extremely attractive man who also happens to be the owner of the cat I stole_ situation,” he hisses back, and Doyoung grumbles about the missing ingredient as he heads into the kitchen to make dinner.

Taeyong stays on the couch and finds himself subconsciously looking around for Poppy. His mind wanders to Jaehyun, picturing him with the little kitty doing normal things around the house. Do they eat dinner together? Does he talk to her when he gets ready in the mornings?

Just then, Doyoung pokes his head around the corner of the kitchen.

“Did you give him your number?”

“Huh?” Taeyong replies, shaken from his thoughts.

“So he can text you. Did you give him it?” he repeats.

Taeyong’s eyes widen. He’d completely forgotten about that. Doyoung chuckles.

“It’s not funny,” he whines. “What do I do? He might never come back, what if he doesn’t?” He drags a hand down the side of his face. “I don’t even know his last name.”

“He doesn’t need to come back,” Doyoung replies, and Taeyong glances at him, confused. He points to the coffee table.

Taeyong picks up the folded paper, the missing cat sign Jaehyun had been carrying. A phone number, assumedly his, is printed in big, black letters at the bottom. He chews on his bottom lip.

“The ball is in your court, now,” Doyoung says, amusement clear in his voice, but Taeyong barely hears him. He stares at the number, stomach doing flips.

_He has to text first?_

Doyoung is already back in the kitchen by the time he looks up again, and he’s left alone with the paper staring back at him, suddenly very aware of the weight of his phone in his back pocket.

He slides it out, setting it on the table in front of him. He stares at it for a second, swallowing dryly. It was now or never.

He picks it up again to unlock it, debating for a second between texting and calling before he realizes the very thought of calling makes him dizzy with nerves, and forgets that option immediately.

Opening his contacts, he creates a new one and names it _Jaehyun (cat guy),_ because he didn’t have his last name yet. He stares at it, reading it over and over. Quickly, like someone was looking over his shoulder, he adds the word _hot_ in front of _cat guy_ and scrolls down to add the number before he can overthink it.

He runs his hand down the paper to smooth it flat before typing it in number by number, checking three times to make sure it was right. He saves it, and the contact pops back onto his screen. He flushes at the name, but sighs in relief when the option to message it appears, and presses it.

He thinks long and hard about what to say, typing and backspacing over and over. Eventually, he decides to keep it simple, hopefully masking how nervous he really is.

 **Taeyong [6:18pm]**  
hey, is this jaehyun?  
it’s taeyong

He stares at the messages, all alone on the screen. Before he can really process that he’s done it, the typing bubble appears and he sucks in a sharp breath.

**Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:19pm]**  
hello, it is  
taeyong?

 **Taeyong [6:19pm]**  
yeah?  
the guy who stole your cat

 **Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:20pm]**  
oh!!  
sorry, i don’t think you ever gave me your name  
but i’m glad to have it now :)

Taeyong giggles at his phone, the tension leaving him with every message exchanged. He sits back against the couch, phone curled in his hands.

**Taeyong [6:21pm]**  
i forgot to ask for your number so i got it off the paper  
i hope this isn’t too creepy

 **Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:22pm]**  
not creepy at all! i’m glad you messaged  
i was considering showing up at your door tomorrow  
i think that would be more creepy

“What are you giggling at?” 

Taeyong whips his head up to find Doyoung in the living room, staring at him. “N-nothing,” he replies defensively, tucking his phone into his chest.

Doyoung rolls his eyes. “Oh my god, you’re texting him, aren’t you? Why are you giggling like a middle schooler?”

Taeyong scoffs. “Am not! He’s just… funny.”

“Right,” Doyoung drawls, turning around to go back into the kitchen. “Funny,” he repeats on his way out, mumbling as he disappears.

With the coast clear again, Taeyong picks his phone back up.

**Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:24pm]**  
not that i was actually going to  
obviously  
just a joke!  
taeyong?

Taeyong realizes that each message had been showing up as read and rushes to put him out of his misery, but not without the familiar flutter in his stomach that had barely left since they’d met.

**Taeyong [6:25pm]**  
i wouldn’t have minded haha  
i was nervous to text first, i wasn’t sure if you were serious about your offer  


**Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:26pm]**  
you scared me there for a second hahah  
to come see poppy? of course i was serious!  
would tomorrow be too soon?

Taeyong swallows a squeal and, making sure Doyoung can’t see him, kicks his feet against the couch, shaking the blanket to the ground. He takes a second to grip at his pounding heart before taking a deep breath and picking up the phone again.

**Taeyong [6:27pm]**  
tomorrow would be great :)

 **Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:28pm]**  
great! i can text you my address  
afternoon?

 **Taeyong [6:28pm]**  
sounds perfect  
see you tomorrow :)

 **Jaehyun (hot cat guy) [6:29pm]**  
see you :)

With the final message, Taeyong flings his phone across the couch cushion and gives up holding in his emotions.

“I’M GOING TO HIS APARTMENT TOMORROW,” he declares, as loud as he can.

Doyoung slides into the living room, socks slipping on the hardwood. “You’re WHAT?”

Taeyong bursts into giggles, body turning to jelly as he melts off the edge of the couch to lay flat on the floor. “I’m going to his apartment tomorrow,” he repeats, trying to convince himself that it was all real.

Doyoung’s head appears, upside down as he stares back up. “You move fast, Yongie,” he teases, and Taeyong swats at his ankles above his head.

“Technically, he made the first move,” Taeyong argues. “I was just accepting the offer.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Doyoung replies as he turns to go back to the kitchen.

“You’re lucky I tolerate you and your sass,” Taeyong pokes at him before he’s out of earshot, and Doyoung takes the bait.

“Oh yeah?” Doyoung turns to raise an eyebrow at him. “You’re lucky I can cook, or you’d have starved by now.”

Taeyong can’t argue with that. He flops over onto his stomach to flash a bright smile. “Oh, Doie, what would I do without you.”

Doyoung sticks his tongue out at him and Taeyong laughs on the floor. “Perish, I think,” he says back with a grin, before beckoning towards the kitchen. “Come eat before it’s cold, idiot.”

“Coming, grandpa,” Taeyong retorts with a giggle, standing up and following him into the kitchen.

\-----------------------------

The next day, Taeyong stands outside of the building Jaehyun had given in his address, just up the road from his own, and wills his heart to calm down before he pushes open the door. It isn’t much use, he knows, but it feels like it’ll beat out of his chest with just one look from him.

He wanders down the hall, the numbers on the doors slowly counting down to the one he wants. He’s still a few minutes early but he couldn’t wait any longer to leave, and he takes small steps as he gets closer.

Suddenly, the number matches the one in the message, and he slows to a stop. He slips his phone into his back pocket, readjusts his sweater on his shoulders, takes a deep breath, and rings the bell.

Taeyong doesn’t even hear footsteps before the door is swinging open, revealing a bright-eyed, smiley Jaehyun. No amount of breathing exercises could prepare him for the way his lungs forgot how to function when he met his eyes.

“Hey,” Jaehyun says in one smooth exhale, like he’s out of breath already, and Taeyong can’t help but smile back at his enthusiasm.

“Hi,” he greets. “Were you sitting by the door?” he jokes softly, and Jaehyun ducks his head.

“Not… _by_ the door. Nearby, maybe,” he answers honestly, and Taeyong grins at him. Jaehyun suddenly stands back, waving a hand into the apartment. “Sorry, come in.”

Taeyong tips his head politely as he steps past him into the main room. It looks similar to theirs, a living space with a kitchen on one side and a hallway on the other. A floor-to-ceiling window fills the room with light and warms the floors.

Jaehyun appears next to him. “It’s a little messy, but it’s home,” he says, and Taeyong smiles.

“It’s lovely,” he replies, and he means it. He knows nothing about Jaehyun, besides the fact that he has a cat, but he can tell a lot by the little things around the room. A stack of textbooks and notebooks is shoved under the glass coffee table, likely spread across the top most days, just like his and Doyoung’s.

“What are you studying?” he asks, pointing to the books.

“Ah, business,” Jaehyun answers, and Taeyong nods. “Are you in university?” he continues.

“I’m a psychology student.” His eyes land on a guitar in the corner of the room. “You play?”

Jaehyun chuckles, following his line of sight. “Some. I’m focusing on the music industry.”

 _Suits him,_ Taeyong thinks. “Like producing or something?”

“Not sure yet, but maybe. I’m interested in a lot of things,” he replies.

Taeyong gets it. He doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing after he graduates, and it’s always nice to hear that no one else does, either. He walks further in the room, glancing over the shelf that sits across from the couch. There’s photos on it, of family and of friends and Taeyong tries not to linger but his curiosity gets the better of him.

“Have you got any siblings?” Jaehyun asks him from behind.

“None,” he replies, looking at what he assumes is child-aged Jaehyun standing on a boat dock with two taller kids on either side, drowning in hand-me-down overalls but grinning so widely he can’t help but smile, too.

“I have an older brother and sister,” he tells him, and Taeyong notices the two kids appear in most of the other old photos.

“I always wanted a sibling,” he says, dragging his eyes away from the shelf to look back at him. “You guys were cute.”

“They’re nicer now than they were back then,” Jaehyun chuckles, coming up to look at them. Taeyong can feel his shoulder brush against his, and he freezes. “I was always the cutest, though,” he jokes, and Taeyong can feel his eyes on the side of his face.

He hums in agreement, swallowing at the close proximity and keeping his eyes locked on the wall until Jaehyun turns around again.

“Hey, look who it is!” Jaehyun says, and Taeyong glances back to see what he’s talking about. Poppy comes strolling into the room, tail flicking lazily as she goes.

“Poppy!” Taeyong exclaims, crouching down immediately and scooting towards her. She headbutts his knee, rubbing against his leg as he strokes her and coos, “Hi kitty, I missed you. Are you happy to be home, hm kitty?”

“Honestly, I don’t think she cares at all,” Jaehyun says, kneeling down next to him, and Taeyong laughs. “You took good care of her, she wasn’t missing anything.”

“You have a fun little adventure, huh?” he grins, watching as she rolls over onto his feet and slides down them. He notices a neon green collar around her neck, and fiddles with it.

“I got her a new one. You know, just in case someone tries to steal her again,” Jaehyun says, and Taeyong whines playfully, reaching out to give him a gentle shove. They laugh together, petting Poppy on the floor.

After a few minutes, Taeyong’s knees start to hurt, and he leans back to sit cross-legged. Poppy watches him resettle, and as soon as he’s stopped moving, she steps over his calves and sits in the space between his legs, front paws resting elegantly on his thigh. Taeyong watches with wide eyes, frozen still, and Jaehyun bursts out laughing.

“I’ve never seen her do that,” he gets out between breaths, leaning back on his palms as Taeyong tries to stifle his laughter to not shake the cat. “She really likes you.”

“She’s never done this to me, either,” Taeyong rushes, embarrassed.

“You don’t have treats in your pocket or something?” Jaehyun teases him, and he shakes his head quickly. Jaehyun scoffs, but his face is still amused. “I can’t believe my cat likes the guy who kidnapped her more than me.”

“You’re never going to let this go, are you?” Taeyong laughs, looking up just as Jaehyun does.

“Never,” he agrees, and they grin at each other.

Taeyong pets Poppy gently in his lap, and Jaehyun sits to the side, legs straight out in front and elbows locked behind him. Taeyong keeps his eyes down, but he can see out of the corner of his eye that Jaehyun isn’t looking at Poppy, and his cheeks heat up a little.

He looks around everywhere that isn’t Jaehyun, desperate for anything to take the attention off him. His eyes land on a vinyl hanging on the wall.

“Do you have a vinyl player?” he asks, and Jaehyun finally tears his eyes away from his face.

“Oh, that one is just decoration, but yeah, I do. It’s in my room, though,” he answers. “Do you want to see it?”

“I would, but,” Taeyong says, before gesturing to the cat in his lap, “can’t disturb her. Right, Poppy?”

At the mention of her name, she meows sharply, lifting her head from where it rested on his thigh. Sufficiently disrupted, she rises up to stretch her back, tail going straight in the air, before she steps gracefully out of his lap, paw by paw. Jaehyun stifles a laugh.

“Well, I guess that solves that problem,” Taeyong says, staring at the cat as she sits down a few steps away to look at them, yawning and completely unbothered. He stretches his legs out, groaning at the soreness from holding so still.

Jaehyun stands up first, before extending a hand down to help him up. Taeyong takes it gratefully, and Jaehyun pulls him up with little effort. Their hands stay together for a second, heads only inches apart, until Taeyong gets embarrassed and looks down, letting their hands fall apart.

Jaehyun smiles gently. “My room is just there,” he says, stepping back to head down the hall, and Taeyong follows. The door is already open, and Jaehyun walks in first.

“Is it always this clean?” Taeyong laughs, glancing at the perfectly made bed and the desk chair clear of clothes, the polar opposite of his.

“Oh God no, only for-” Jaehyun starts, before his face goes red and he sputters out, “I- I mean, I always clean on the weekends. Nothing special today.”

Taeyong bursts out laughing, and Jaehyun groans, hiding his face in his hands. He spares him any more embarrassment and spots the vinyl player on a shelf. “Show me how it works,” he asks him, smiling.

Grateful for the topic change, Jaehyun nods obediently and goes over to it. “It’s not very hard, you just set the LP on it and then,” he points to the side and explains each piece and what they do, showing him each step. Taeyong watches and listens as he talks, but he gets distracted by the excitement in his warm voice.

He continues on, sometimes glancing up to meet Taeyong’s eyes and see if he’s still listening, and he nods along with an encouraging smile. Even if he didn’t know the first thing about record players, it makes his heart warm to see Jaehyun so happy to explain it to him.

“…And it plays until the end, then you just have to move it back,” Jaehyun finishes, looking back proudly. Taeyong claps his hands quietly, and he smiles. “Do you want to pick one to play? I’ve got a bunch over there.”

Jaehyun steps to the side to let Taeyong see the row of records on the shelf, and he gently flips through them. Jaehyun gives him little bits of information on every artist he passes, and Taeyong listens. “Stevie Wonder?” he suggests when he finds one he recognizes, “Or Chet Baker, maybe.”

“Let’s do Stevie Wonder,” Jaehyun agrees, pulling it out. “I listen to Chet Baker too much.”

Taeyong watches as he slips the LP out and sets it on the turntable, fiddling with it until suddenly music comes out. He turns it down a little and shuts the lid, turning back to face him.

“That’s so cool,” Taeyong tells him. _You’re so cool,_ he thinks.

“I think so too,” Jaehyun replies. He sits on the edge of the bed, motioning for Taeyong to sit anywhere.

He sits next to him, scooting up and criss-crossing his legs at the bottom of the bed to turn and face him. He looks around at the rest of the room, and spots a cat bed tucked into one corner.

“Poppy sleeps in here?” he asks, and Jaehyun chuckles.

“Yeah, she cries if I don’t let her in,” he says, smoothing a hand over the duvet in between them. “Bed is off limits usually.”

“Usually?”

“Sometimes she sneaks up and I don’t have the heart to kick her off,” he admits, and Taeyong giggles. He was just as much of a sucker for her as they were.

“This is Poppy’s home, you are simply a guest,” Taeyong says, earning a chuckle from him.

“Exactly,” he agrees.

Taeyong falls silent, playing with his hands in his lap and listening to the song that plays softly. He knows this one, finally, and he finds himself humming along under his breath.

He gets through half a verse before Jaehyun suddenly clears his throat and he stops, startled. He looks up, expecting annoyance in his face, but instead he looks apologetic. “I didn’t want you to stop, I’m sorry,” he reassures him, and Taeyong makes an O shape with his mouth.

He watches as Jaehyun turns to lay flat on his back sideways across the bed. Taeyong focuses on his fingers again, fiddling mindlessly and picking up the tune again. He hums along, swaying slightly, until the chorus comes again, and Jaehyun joins in with him.

Jaehyun has his eyes closed, fingers resting, intertwined, across his stomach as he sings the chorus alongside him. His voice is deep and honeyed but still feather light, and Taeyong wants to gape at him. He doesn’t, though, in fear of alerting Jaehyun that he’s staring or that his voice influences him as much as it does.

He keeps humming, and as the song continues and he listens to Jaehyun, he gets more and more absorbed into the high and lows of his voice, the power and equal tenderness that he harnesses perfectly. He barely notices when the song comes to an end, and only when Jaehyun’s eyes open to meet his in the silence between the next song beginning does he remember to blink, and to breathe.

“You have a lovely voice,” he whispers, and Jaehyun glows.

“That’s good to hear, since I’ve been having lessons from age 8,” he says, and Taeyong laughs.

“Did you want to be a singer?” he asks.

Jaehyun hums as he thinks, staring up at the ceiling. “No, not really,” he decides. “I just liked music a lot, in every form. I wanted to play instruments and sing and perform and produce and everything in between.”

“That’s nice,” Taeyong says quietly. “You suit it, I think. Being a musician.” Jaehyun looks over to give him a skeptical eyebrow raise, and he chuckles. “You do! It’s a compliment, don’t look at me like that.”

Jaehyun lets out a short laugh. “No, I know, thank you,” he says, and Taeyong settles again. “I’m glad you think so.”

Jaehyun smiles up at him from where he lays, and Taeyong feels the familiar flutter in his chest. In a stroke of confidence, he kicks his legs off the bed and twists to lay down next to him, their shoulders brushing together.

“Oh, hey,” Jaehyun says lightly, and Taeyong can feel the heat of his breath on his neck. It raises goosebumps, sending tingles across his skin.

“Hey,” he breathes. His pounding heart is much more obvious when he’s lying down, but he’s given up trying to soothe it.

He stares at the ceiling, holding his breath as time stands still for a moment. He steals a glance to the side and _oh,_ Jaehyun’s right there. If he leans a little closer, their noses would touch. He can hear his breathing, see his chest rise, steady and slow. He can pick out the flecks of amber in his brown eyes, taking in the fullness of his bottom lip, and the tongue that darts out over it.

One second, he’s admiring every inch of Jaehyun’s face, and then he blinks, and the next second there’s a hand on his cheek and lips on his own.

Jaehyun’s hand is warm as he leans into it, into him, pressing his nose into his cheek. He’s frozen for a second, waiting for his brain to catch up with his heart and process that _this is actually happening right now._ When Jaehyun’s lips start to move against his, his head goes blank except for the overdrive of feelings at that very moment, and he jolts with the electricity of it.

Jaehyun feels him flinch and immediately tries to pull away, but Taeyong finally kisses him back and he relaxes again. Taeyong inhales sharply and reaches up to twist a hand into the back of his hair, melting into him.

He’s leaning over him on one shoulder, and Taeyong arches his neck to meet him in the middle. The kiss is gentle and sweet and Jaehyun gives most of the power over to him, only using his hand to tilt his chin upwards. After a few seconds, he breaks away but doesn’t pull back, smiling as they breathe the same air.

Taeyong’s mind is racing a million miles an hour, butterflies ready to burst out of his stomach, and all he can think to do is giggle. He does, and Jaehyun does too, bumping their noses together, and then Taeyong steals one more, chaste kiss before falling back on the bed.

Jaehyun props his head up with his elbow, letting the other hand fall comfortably between them. “You have a cute nose,” he says, grinning.

“Thanks,” Taeyong replies with a laugh. “You have a cute face.”

Jaehyun sputters at his bluntness, and Taeyong’s eyes disappear as his grin stretches impossibly wider. Just then, a dash of orange appears at their feet, jumping onto the bed.

“Poppy!” they exclaim at the same time, and she meows in reply. She walks up Taeyong’s side, sniffing at his face and tickling with her whiskers.

“You know you aren’t allowed up here, kitty,” Jaehyun scolds her, and Taeyong laughs, reaching up to scratch her head.

“You did mention a few exceptions, didn’t you,” Taeyong says, glancing back at him. “I think you can allow it just for today. I did come here to see how she was doing, after all.”

Jaehyun scoffs and Taeyong flashes a lop-sided grin. Poppy suddenly stepped onto his chest, sniffing around as she hopped across him to squeeze herself in between their bodies, at the perfect height to sniff at Jaehyun’s face. Taeyong tries not to laugh at the face he pulls at her.

“You’ve gotten brave,” he tells her, breath making her ears flick so close up. She makes no effort to move, though, and Jaehyun rolls his eyes, chuckling.

“She only does weird things when you’re around,” Taeyong says. “I think you’re a bad influence.”

“I could say the same thing,” Jaehyun retorts lightly. “I think you taught her some bad habits.”

Taeyong laughs, stroking her fur. “I might need to come over again, just to make sure you’re being a good cat dad and all.”

“Oh?” Jaehyun raises an eyebrow at him. “Is that so? You don’t trust me?”

“Not sure yet,” he answers, fighting hard to keep a straight face. “I might need a little more time to decide.”

“Well, in that case,” Jaehyun murmurs, eyes glinting mischievously, “maybe you can continue your investigation tomorrow? She can be quite the little devil when she doesn’t get her food on time.”

Taeyong grins. “Yeah? I’ll have to think about it.”

“Ah, a busy man,” Jaehyun comments, and Taeyong has to bite his lip to keep from laughing. “Would dinner afterwards tempt you enough?”

At his offer, Taeyong looks up at him, warmth swelling in his chest. Jaehyun raises his eyebrows in question, and he nods.

“I’d love that,” he replies, smiling widely. Jaehyun returns it, and they share a look so full of emotion that Jaehyun leans down to press a tender kiss to his forehead, expressing more than anything he could say with words. Taeyong swears his heart is going to explode out of his chest with _feelings_.

“I can’t believe I’m asking the guy who stole my cat on a date,” Jaehyun says, dragging him back to reality, and Taeyong bursts out laughing.

“I can’t believe I stole someone’s cat and got a date out of it,” he replies, earning a chuckle. He turns to the cat, still settled between their chests, and pets her head. “What do you have to say about it, Poppy?”

She meows at him, and they both nod in understanding. “Of course, she was plotting it all along,” Jaehyun translates for her, and Taeyong laughs. “She’s a smart kitty.”

“Or she was just hungry, and I was an easy target,” Taeyong counters. Jaehyun rushes to cover her ears, shushing him.

“Don’t insult her intelligence! She holds grudges easily,” he whispers, and Taeyong giggles.

“Sorry, Poppy,” he quickly apologises, scratching her ears. “I’m sure you had this all planned out, huh?”

She meows again, this time more high-pitched. “Ahh,” Taeyong replies, “you said I fed you the better food?”

Jaehyun gasps, and Taeyong laughs. “I think she wants me to handle the menu from now on,” he tells him with a shrug. “She said it, not me.”

“You can show me her preferences tomorrow,” Jaehyun compromises playfully. “But for today, you’ll have to deal with what we’ve got, okay kitty?” He pats her on the head, chuckling.

Taeyong feels his phone buzz in his pocket, and he wiggles around to get it out. There’s a text from Doyoung, and he realizes he’s already been gone longer than he expected.

“I think I gotta go home soon,” he tells Jaehyun. “My roommate is asking about dinner.”

“No worries, go ahead,” Jaehyun replies, leaning back so that Taeyong can sit up straight on the bed. “I’ll see you tomorrow, though?” he asks, and Taeyong turns to smile and nod at him.

He texts Doyoung quickly to tell him he’s coming back soon, chuckling to himself at the onslaught of questions he sends in reply because _God, Doyoung isn’t going to believe this._

They both stand up to walk to the door, Poppy following behind. He pulls his shoes on, giving Poppy a few more head scratches while he’s leaning over and then turns back to Jaehyun.

“Thanks for-,” they both say at the same time, stopping with small laughs to let the other speak. Eventually, Taeyong wins, and Jaehyun continues.

“Thanks for coming over,” he says lightly, “and, you know, for not actually stealing my cat.”

Taeyong giggles. “You’re welcome. Thanks for inviting me to check on the cat I temporarily stole.”

“My pleasure,” Jaehyun replies.

They both fall silent, and Taeyong knows it’s his cue to leave, but he can’t turn away from him. He stands awkwardly, wracking his brain for anything else he can say to prolong the moment, but falls short.

“Okay, time to go,” he finally says, offering one last smile and turning to open the door.

“Oh! Taeyong,” Jaehyun stops him, and Taeyong spins around embarrassingly fast.

“Yeah?” he asks, but before he can even turn around fully, Jaehyun wraps his arms around him. He gasps quietly in surprise, but immediately relaxes and tucks his head into Jaehyun’s neck, arms coming up to lock around his waist.

“Sorry, just wanted to do that,” Jaehyun says against his temple, and he hums contentedly before letting go to stand back again.

“I was hoping you would,” Taeyong admits, smiling shyly. The flutter in his heart feels normal now, even present, never lessening.

“Okay, now I’ll really go,” he continues, turning to pull the door open.

Jaehyun holds it open as he steps through. “See you tomorrow!” he says, and Taeyong waves.

“Bye, Jaehyun,” he says as he turns to walk down the hall.

“Bye, cat thief,” he replies with a teasing grin, and Taeyong watches as his head disappears back into his apartment.

He giggles to himself as he walks down the hall, wondering how stealing a cat had gotten him _so lucky._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, kudos and comments are much appreciated!!  
> thank you to the prompter as well, i hope this does it justice! i had a lot of fun writing it :)  
> and a final thank you to the mods for organizing this fest! you were lovely<33


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